lies clogged her throat. “It’s time our people worked together, don’t you think?”
His eyes narrowed in satisfaction. Smug bastard. He shrugged like he had nothing better to do. “What do you need from me?”
“Almost nothing. A few volunteers that no one will miss.”
He nodded arrogantly as if he’d sussed out her entire plan from that one detail. “You need lives.”
“I need people who won’t be missed.” She wasn’t willing to say more than that. He didn’t need specifics. Just to do what she wanted.
He steepled his fingers, a move that reminded her of her late father. He tapped the tips of his fingers against his chin. “I would imagine you also want to remove Augustine’s scrutiny.”
“I would not be opposed to that, no.”
“I’d like him out of my hair as well.” For a few moments, he sat without saying anything. At last, he spoke, his eyes narrowing. “How many lives do you need?”
“A handful. Five.”
“Five is not a small number.”
She shrugged and moved as if to leave. “If it’s beyond your abilities…”
“Sit.” A hint of anger played in his eyes. “I will help you with one caveat.”
She settled into her seat. “And that is?” Of course he had conditions. No one did anything in this town without getting a piece of the action for themselves.
“You will not argue over who I bring you.”
What was going on in that mind of his? “I can’t blindly agree to that. You could bring me one of my own coven members.” Although there were a few she wouldn’t balk at adding to the well of souls. “Or one of my clients.” She shook her head. “No, I can’t give you this.”
“The one I have in mind is not a witch, nor one of your coven members.” He sat forward, smiling like he was about to give her a gift. “If you…” He swirled his hand through the air. “Remove her from this world you could very well set in motion the thing you wish to accomplish without any further work.”
She squinted at him. “Speak plainly.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I am offering you one of Augustine’s inner circle. One who, based on my supernatural perceptions, could count as two lives.”
A niggle of suspicion zipped through Giselle’s brain. “Who?”
“The woman he shares the house with. Harlow.”
Her surprise lasted the briefest of moments, but she knew Ogun had seen her react. How did he know Harlow had another soul within her? Had he been watching that night at the warehouse, too? How did he even know about Harlow at all? “What are you saying? What makes you think she would count as two? And how could you even begin to think you could bring her to me?”
He laughed and pulled a business card from inside his jacket pocket. He held it up between two fingers. “Augustine dropped this a while back on one of his many visits. It seems the late Olivia Goodwin’s daughter has not only moved to town but has started a business. I’ve already met her and am meeting with her again. I will have her under my sway very soon.”
“That answers nothing about the two lives.”
He pursed his mouth for a moment, thoughts flickering behind his dark gaze. “There is an aura about her.” He waved one hand. “A darkness. She is troubled, but not in the way of the grieving. It’s as if… she possesses the spirit of another. I expect my next meeting with her will confirm my suspicions. If so, she’s worth two souls.”
This time, Giselle kept her expression blank, but inside she was reeling over the fact that Ogun had uncovered the same thing she had. Of course, Ogun didn’t know that other spirit was Harlow’s dead twin, Ava Mae. But then he hadn’t been privy to the scene Giselle had witnessed between the girl and her now-deceased father, Joseph Branzino. Ava Mae had laid bare her past in the minutes before she’d slit the man’s throat.
Ogun tilted his head. “What say you? Do we have a deal? I deliver the girl and three others, provided she holds two souls, and then we are at peace. Allied, even.”
There was no reason not to believe Harlow would count as two. With three more, plus Ogun as the last, they’d have their twelve souls and the ruina vox could be cast. Turning Augustine’s attention to the missing Harlow would just make their work that much easier. Her plan had become so much more than she’d hoped. “We have a